← Casuals with Katie Nolan
Casuals with Katie Nolan
Devers Blockbuster Trade, NBA Finals, and Isabella Interviews for the Knicks
01:03:43
Hello! It’s the podcast that wears jerseys to job interviews. Today, Katie reacts to the news that dropped on Sunday night of the Red Sox trading franchise player Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants. Then, Katie and the Casualties discuss Game 5 of the NBA Finals, Stephen A Smith’s work-life balance, the Desmond Bane trade, Shohei Ohtani’s return to the mound, J.J. Spaun’s US Open win, more Brad Marchand heroics, and the utterly unbelievable upset from the World Cup of Darts. PLUS, former GM of the Phoenix Suns Ryan McDonough joins the show to interview Isabella about the Knicks’ open Head Coaching position. Will Isabella get the job?
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- [00:00]
Katie Nolan
You know, summer isn't just for playing sports. It's for the conversations around sports, too. You know, the casual hangouts, whether they're inside in the air conditioning or out on the beach with fellow sports fans. Whatever kind of summer mood you're in, Starbucks has a beverage to match, like the Summer Berry Refresher, the unofficial drink of the summer. It's so good. It's sweet, but not too sweet. It's three berry flavors, and it's everything I never would have thought I wanted, but absolutely do want. It's perfect for sipping while you catch up on last night's scores. No matter what, whether it's that drink or one of their other summer drinks, your summer favorites are ready at Starbucks.
- [00:39]
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- [01:02]
Katie Nolan
Hey, Isabella, did you hear this voicemail that we got?
- [01:05]
Isabella
Hi, Katie, this is Chrissy calling from the Knicks.
- [01:09]
Chrissy
We'd like to offer you a trade for Isabella.
- [01:12]
Katie Nolan
We're willing to offer you three of those clam hats or TTS hats.
- [01:18]
Isabella
And we're also willing to give you that guy that makes our recruitment videos that just swaps out the names of players. And Isabella's salary will be $520 million because she is.
- [01:32]
Katie Nolan
Okay. If you're interested, please call us back and leave us a voicemail.
- [01:38]
Chrissy
Okay, let me meet it.
- [01:39]
Katie Nolan
Bye. Now, I have confirmed that woman works for the Knicks. So. Wait, really? No, I'm just kidding. But 550 million, is that enough for you?
- [01:50]
Isabella
You know, at first when she mentioned that I was basically worth hats.
- [01:55]
Katie Nolan
Yeah. I was like, no, I mean, let's not diminish that. Valuable hats. It's Titas hats and clam hats, so.
- [02:02]
Isabella
Well, we already have a Titas hat. What's a clam hat?
- [02:04]
Katie Nolan
You know, those ones that. That had the glove and the little.
- [02:08]
Isabella
Oh, okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [02:09]
Katie Nolan
You know.
- [02:10]
Isabella
Yeah, yeah.
- [02:10]
Katie Nolan
So those are valuable hats. And it was multiples. It's hard. Those are hard to find in multiples.
- [02:15]
Isabella
Okay, that's true, I guess, but 500 million.
- [02:19]
Katie Nolan
I thought it was 550, which is quite a bit of money.
- [02:23]
Isabella
That sounds pretty good. But what would I. What would I be like? She didn't say what I would be on the I think you'd.
- [02:28]
Katie Nolan
I think. Would it matter for $550 million?
- [02:31]
Isabella
Actually, yeah. You're right.
- [02:32]
Katie Nolan
You could be right. The. The bench cleaner. You could be the. I think.
- [02:37]
Isabella
Can I be the guy that. That cleans the floors when the players fall on the ground?
- [02:41]
Katie Nolan
Yes.
- [02:41]
Isabella
I want to be that.
- [02:42]
Katie Nolan
Yes.
- [02:43]
Isabella
Doing that for 550 million.
- [02:45]
Katie Nolan
A steal.
- [02:46]
Isabella
Yeah.
- [02:47]
Katie Nolan
Now we have to talk about whether or not we're willing to part with you because we pay you a competitive salary here at Casuals.
- [02:54]
Isabella
Well, I don't know. You guys want to come on the road with me?
- [03:00]
Katie Nolan
Maybe.
- [03:01]
Isabella
I'll be willing to give you guys 50 million of that. 550 million.
- [03:05]
Katie Nolan
Okay. Trade done.
- [03:19]
Isabella
Hi.
- [03:19]
Katie Nolan
Welcome to Casuals, the sports podcast for people who love sports but are also sometimes bored listening to sports podcasts. I don't know. It just is what it is. I'm Katie Nolan. I'm your host, joined today by the Casualties. We have Isabella. We have Christopher. Christopher. Because I'm looking at your zoom, so I just felt like saying Christopher. I guess I am always over zoom. I know, but I'm not usually this close to the screen.
- [03:45]
Christopher
You can't normally read the zoom.
- [03:47]
Katie Nolan
And my brain. I'm Ron Burgundy. I just read what's in front of me. So Chris and Isabella are here. No, Brady. Because he'd rather be at a meeting.
- [03:56]
Christopher
What's that about?
- [03:57]
Katie Nolan
Insane. Insane. But that's fine, I guess. We will do our best to discuss golf without him. We've got a lot to get to today. A lot that I don't even feel like talking about at all. But we do have to talk about it. Coming up, we have a fun. A very fun segment in today's podcast. We have acquired a real former GM who's going to swing by and interview Isabella for the Knicks gig. For the viewer. I mean, the listener at home. Because you can't see Isabella dressed for the job she wants. She has a Knicks hat and a Knicks jersey on, which I think is what you're supposed to wear to the coaching interview.
- [04:39]
Isabella
I think so, yeah.
- [04:41]
Katie Nolan
Great.
- [04:41]
Isabella
I think it would be rude not to.
- [04:43]
Katie Nolan
Right. And I think all. Yeah. That all coaches show up in the jersey and are like, hello, I'd like this job.
- [04:50]
Isabella
These jerseys aren't cheap. Shows an investment.
- [04:52]
Katie Nolan
That's right. Speaking of not cheap jerseys, we should yap. I guess we should probably yap. And now, boy, oh, boy. What could I yap about today? What could possibly be that topic that.
- [05:03]
Ryan McDonough
I want to take up about tonight?
- [05:06]
Katie Nolan
Raphael Devers has been traded to the San Francisco Giants. This is one of those things where I've got 30 million thoughts. Most of them are tears. I literally did cry yesterday. I don't know that I feel good about that. It just sort of. I think something happened. You know, when you're sad and something, it's like the last thing. It's a silly thing, but it like pushes you over the edge and you just go like. And you just kind of succumb to it. I think I don't remember what it was that frustrated me so much that I finally was just like, it's Rafia. I kind of let myself just have my 10 minutes of sobbing. I'm just. Listen, I'm just like the older I get, the more confused I get about what my experience as a sports fan is supposed to be. Because I feel like as a child with child wonderment, I just felt like you love your team, you love your players, you root for your players, you wear your jersey, you go to your games, you root for your team. And now as I'm older, I feel like either we know way too much about what goes on behind the scenes or. Or I'm just old and sick of hearing about everybody else's budget all the time. I don't the amount of time since Raphael Devers was traded. Maybe I should be giving more of the information for people who haven't followed it as closely. Raphael des was our third baseman. We signed him to a 11 year contract extension like two a year and a half ago is then you'll remember the Red Sox signed Alex Bregman at the last minute right before spring training this year. Alex Bregman a an incredible third baseman. So Raphael Devers was likely going to lose that job. Nobody told Devers that at all. He was kind of blindsided by this idea. Eventually he was sold that he, yes, would become a dh. Since then has been one of the best designated hitters across the league. Then our first baseman went down, Tristin Costas. They asked him to move to first base. And Devers basically said they just told me to put my glove down and basically say goodbye to it. And now they're asking me to pick it back up. If the right fielder gets hurt, am I going to have to go play right field? Basically saying I'm supposed to be the centerpiece of this team and you're not supposed to jerk the centerpiece of the team around. And then randomly on a random June afternoon after sweeping the Yankees, after a series where we beat the Yankees, our number one rival, a weekend after taking two out of three in a series against the Yankees, they just trade him. Literally the day of a game that he hit a home run. It was a day game, so it was Sunday, Father's Day. I know a lot of people who got their dad's Raphael Devers jerseys for Father's Day. These City Connect jerseys only available in the team store as Raphael Devers or Big Poppy, a guy who has not played with this jersey on. So why would you buy that number? All these people now have, including myself, Des City Connect jerseys that they spent $200 on. And I just feel like since then, all of the reporting I've heard is people going, yeah, well, his contract was underwater. And if I tell you, I can't tell you enough how little I give a fuck about being underwater. The number he was being paid was the number you came up with. Front office, you chose to pay him that, and then to say, once he became a DH and was no longer adding anything defensively, that money was too much. You made him a dh. What. In what world are we going like, yeah, he was. He wasn't worth that much because he was only a hitter. You. He didn't want to only be a hitter. You're actually mad he didn't accept that sooner. And then he does accept it, excels at it, and you go, well, it's not really worth that much for just a dh. Might that be why he didn't want to be the dh? Would that be so crazy? The other thing that frustrates me when a trade like this happens, especially because the, you know, Red Sox ownership group owns one of the papers in Boston, is that there's always this, like, smear campaign that you have to be cautious of where all this bad news starts to come out about a player to sort of make fans side with ownership again. Because this is a road we've been down a lot with sports about why do fans always side with ownership? And I think what it comes down to is that people don't realize they're not thinking about the owners. They're not thinking about the front office. They're thinking about the team and your team and the name and the city. That's like, your identity. You identify with that the same way they say to a player, do whatever you can for the team, because it means more to a fan. To a fan, it's like, don't we all want to win? And to a player or to the front office, it's like, don't we all want to make more money? And I just feel like in Recent years, it's become more obvious that those are not aligned. And I'm sick of being told that I should care. That though we received as a team, nothing in terms of players and value in this trade, nothing. I'm supposed to be happy that we save however many hundreds of millions of dollars, I don't give a. Because I only hear about that money when we're not spending it. No one ever goes. And here's where that money's going to go, and here's what we're going to do with that money. We're going to put it towards this. And they never are transparent in that way. They're only transparent when they're like, yeah, but we may not have gotten any people back, but we got a lot of money. Okay, for what? To go get another guy that we're gonna give up in a couple years? I'm so fucking sick of loving a guy and then having him shipped off. Like, the Red Sox do. This more than is normal, I feel. And so I'm just frustrated. And now feels like a good time to just let people know that Fenway workers voted on Sunday, I believe, to authorize a strike. The vendors inside of the stadium, and I don't like to cross picket lines. So I had been, before the TR trade, looking it up to see, what does that mean? Does that mean we shouldn't be going to Red Sox games or what? And what I saw was that it actually means once you're at a Red Sox game, if you're in Fenway, just don't buy anything there, like food and drink, etc. And so the strike hasn't happened yet. They've just been authorized to strike. But I just wanted to point that out and we could go the extra mile and just not go to games. It would be possible. Because it sounds like all that money we're saving isn't going to employees around the organization. So maybe that's something we could help with. I don't know. I didn't watch the Sox last night. I missed Roman Anthony's first big league home run because I just don't have the stomach for. I'm just frustrated and I don't know. I've also spent the day watching everybody that's a Red Sox fan that has a podcast, come up with their reason why they're okay with it. And I'm just not there yet. So maybe I'm a bad fan. I don't know. I just know that he's been traded to my fiance's team, and my poor fiance has had to be like excited but also pretend to be sad. For me, it's the best that they've had in a while. What'd you say?
- [12:43]
Isabella
That's a good man right there.
- [12:44]
Katie Nolan
He's trying. He's like, I'm so sorry. But also, you said he went to my team. He was like clearly very happy. Pretty cool that watching the Giants play the Dodgers the night that he was traded on Sunday Night Baseball. They after the game go to the SportsCenter post game and shout out to Trevor Scales, who I love. But they're interviewing Mookie Betts going, hey Mookie, did you hear about the Raphael Devers trade? And I was like, why don't you just stab me in my face? I definitely don't need Mookie Betts thoughts on the Raphael Devers trademark. And at least yesterday, Monday, you know, Trevor Story told the media that Alex Cora has had addressed the team, but nobody else had yet. That's good. I feel good about front office ownership leadership of the team that after they trade a who has very recently been called a cornerstone, the centerpiece of the organization the day after trading them, the only person who's talked to them is is the manager. That feels good. That feels like it was that everything's under control and there's nothing to worry about. Certainly the amount of people willing to call him a locker room cancer with basically no evidence of such is very frustrating to me. And I feel like I'm just going to keep bringing this up in different ways throughout the podcast. So you'll have to forgive me. I am still processing. I'm still very much processing what the front office called in a Zoom meeting yesterday, an inflection point and that they acted boldly. Can you just be like, we fucked up. We fucked up managing him and it was an untenable situation and we had to get rid of him. But it was our fault. It was a failure of communication on our end and our bad and we're sorry and we've learned and we won't do it again. Would that be crazy if you hopped on your Zoom and said like, probably shouldn't have told him to put his glove away forever before we asked him to play first base. Our bad. We realize that now. Lesson learned. Won't happen again. Would it kill you? Our state has changed a lot in the last 140 years. We know because Multicare has been here guided by a single purpose, making our communities healthier. That comes from making courageous decisions, partnering with local communities to grow programs and services and expanding healthcare access to those who need it most. Together, we're building a healthier future. Learn more@mycare.org.
- [15:19]
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- [15:50]
Katie Nolan
Race the sails.
- [15:52]
Christopher
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- [15:54]
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- [15:59]
Katie Nolan
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- [16:20]
Christopher
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- [16:24]
Katie Nolan
So to help us, we brought in.
- [16:25]
Christopher
A reverse auctioneer, which is apparently a.
- [16:28]
Katie Nolan
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- [16:41]
Christopher
Of 45 for three month plan equivalent to 15 per month required new customer.
- [16:44]
Katie Nolan
Offer for first three months only speed.
- [16:45]
Ryan McDonough
Slow after 35 gigabytes of networks busy.
- [16:46]
Katie Nolan
Taxes and fees extra.
- [16:47]
Christopher
See mint mobile.com.
- [16:53]
Katie Nolan
Okay, NBA, let's talk about other stuff. The Oklahoma City Thunder took a 32 series lead after beating the Pacers 121,09 in Game 5 of the NBA Finals last night. Jalen Williams, aka J Dub I feel like you put that in recently. What did you do that for?
- [17:13]
Christopher
Just to confirm which Jalen Williams set.
- [17:15]
Katie Nolan
A new playoff career high with 40 points on 14 of 25 shooting, including 3 of 5 from 3 point range, topping his 34 point performance in Thunder's Game 4 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western conference finals. At 24 years old, he became the third youngest player to score at least 40 points in a Finals game, trailing only Magic Johnson and Russell Westbrook, two names you might have heard of. He has at least 25 points and five rebounds in the past three games, the first player younger than 25 to have such a streak during the Finals since Shaquille o' Neal. Ever heard of Him. That's just my only commentary on this is. Ever heard of this other guy, Shane Gillis? Alexander scored 31 points and dished out 10 assists. Those two together have 291 combined points in the NBA Finals, which is the fourth most by a duo through the first five games of an NBA Finals since the NBA ABA merger. Ever heard of the Thunder became the only team to record 15 steals and 12. I mean, that's very specific. Christopher. Tyrese Halberton. Let's talk about what happened there. Because he had zero points in the first half, he went to the locker room early in the game before returning in the second quarter with his calf wrapped. He finished the game, but his production was limited. He scored four points, matching the lowest scoring total of his playoff career. And he finished without a field goal for the first time in his playoff career, going 0 for 6 from the field. Chris Christopher.
- [18:42]
Christopher
Yeah, not a good performance by Tyrese Halliburton, but when you're carrying an injury like a calf, that's. That's like a niggling injury that's going to make it very tough to do really anything. And when you don't have a tyrese Halliburton playing at 100, it's going to be very tough for the paces to win a game. That is a big part of why OKC were able to win that game, apart from the fact that they just played a terrific game. But that's sort of gonna be probably the biggest storyline heading into game six, which will be on Thursday night at 8:30pm on ABC. If Halliburton either doesn't play or is very limited, or if he's, you know, only at 70%, then you're probably looking at OKC wrapping up the series and becoming the. The winners of the Larry.
- [19:35]
Katie Nolan
The Larry. Right. So you. It sounds like Christopher thinks it's over.
- [19:39]
Christopher
If Halberton doesn't come back and isn't 100. I think. I think that's the way it's going. Even though Indiana has looked really good at home, especially in the postseason, and it's been a long time since I've lost three games in a row. It had been a long time since I'd lost two games in a row and they. They did that over the last two games. It's been a long time since they've lost three in a row. But Tyrese Haliburton is just such an important part of this team. He is their clutch player. We mentioned on the show, I think, last week how strong he has been in the clutch, which, as we mentioned last week, was the game being within five points in the final five minutes of the game. If you don't have him to rely on in those late game moments, then that really takes a lot away from, from the paces. It takes the offense, their biggest offensive weapon, away and makes it infinitely tougher to beat this historically good OKC team. This is a team coming off one of the greatest regular seasons of all time. And if they okc, that is, if they can win the NBA Finals, their entire season goes down as one of the greatest overall seasons of all time. So if the paces are to disrupt that, they need Tyrese Halbert and playing at 100%.
- [20:50]
Katie Nolan
I just want to apologize to Indiana and to Tyrese Halliburton because as soon as I said that I was becoming a Tyrese Halliburton fan, it appears that this has fallen off. And I think it may just be me between Brad Marchand and Raphael Devers. And now I just feel like once I say I like a thing, the thing withers away in one way or another. And so I just, if this ends up being my fault, I do just want to apologize. I'll also say the series going to Indiana could, you know, they've been good there and that could swing things. I, I was going to a week, a couple weeks ago take a brave stance as a member of sports media and say that I liked when Pat McAfee gave his in stadium hype speech against the Knicks. Sorry, Isabella, as I look at you and your, all of your Knicks stuff when he gave that hype speech and a lot of people were like, ew, enough Pat McAfee. I was like, actually, I kind of loved it. They gave him the mic in the stadium and he talked shit to all the famous people from New York that had traveled, like Timothee Chalamet and Ben Stiller, et cetera, et cetera. Basically being like, let's send these people home. Sad. I thought that ruled. But because I've taken that brave stance, I will now also take this stance. I saw that he did it again and this time was talking about them being underdogs and like referenced the point spread or like the line of the game. And I was like, I don't think we need to. Is everybody's brain so rotten from gambling that we can't just give a hype up speech in arena? That's basically like, hey, they think we can't do this, but we can do, I don't think. You know, if you go to the old movies with locker room speeches. I don't think they ever were. Like it's a game of inches. And also we're six and a half point dogs. So the media does it like that shouldn't be. Keep that out of the. Give your hype speech. I love that. But leave out the what the gambling. I don't care. And I don't think the stadium should care either. But clearly that's a. A take I've had. I think the most important thing about the NBA Finals that we need to be talking about is the presence of solitaire. Yeah. Stephen A. Smith. I don't know if I saw this. He was filmed playing solitaire on his phone amid the action between the Pacers and the Thunder on Friday night. He said that it was during a timeout, maybe a break and play, but solid. I mean, it's. Either are our attention span so fried that when there's a little bit of a break, we go. Gotta get back to figuring out where I put seven. I just. And also at this. At your big age, if it's not spider solitaire, I don't respect you. Okay.
- [23:25]
Isabella
Which one? Spider solitaire.
- [23:26]
Katie Nolan
Spider sol spider solitaire is the more difficult one where you get all of the car. I actually don't even remember how to play regular solitaire, so it's hard for me to tell the difference between the two. But you can put any card on any thing. No matter the suit. You can put it on any. And then you have to undo them into piles of. This is a terrible expl. Somebody Google it. That's the. The explanation.
- [23:49]
Isabella
I like regular solitaire.
- [23:50]
Katie Nolan
Yeah, I love it. Yeah.
- [23:52]
Isabella
So I'm a little bit in support of this.
- [23:54]
Katie Nolan
Yeah. You know, you think it's good to. During the. A game that you're covering when the knock on you is that you don't watch enough of the basketball game to. To play solitaire on your phone, maybe.
- [24:09]
Isabella
To just like mentally prepare. Like he needs to take a second work, life, balance.
- [24:14]
Katie Nolan
So true. Solitaire is life and basketball is work. And you must balance the two. I'm actually. This is triggering a memory in me. I remember a really long time ago. Why are you telling this story? My mom really wanted to do, like to decorate the apartment I was living in at the time. And I was like, yeah, I don't care about this. So I have to do. This is when I was working on, like making YouTube videos and my routine was I would take my medication and then I would play solitaire to get like my brain in a zone. And then I would write my videos that I had to work on. And so I said to my mom, I'm like, you can come over and decorate my apartment all you want. I have stuff. I have to work. I have work to do. But I went through my routine. So at one point my mom is trying to hang a thing up and she looks over at my screen and I was playing solitaire because I was at that point of my routine and my mom and I got into a huge fight because she was like, you're not working, you're playing solitaire. And now I kind of see what she meant by that. Now that I'm looking at Stephen A. Smith, but, you know, who am I to say? Maybe it's just part of his routine. Maybe that's how he gets in the zone, is by moving those cards around during timeouts. Yeah, it's I guess entirely possible. So I guess we'll take a. A sympathetic stance to Stephen A. Smith. Leave Stephen A. Smith alone. I can't even say that. With all I'm numb inside from the Devers trade. It's going to be a weird podcast. Also, Chris, speaking of trades, I keep hearing about this blockbuster trade that I couldn't have cared less to look into because I have had enough of trade content. But as I understand it, there is a big NBA trade that has big implications across the league. So would you do me the favor of breaking that down for us?
- [26:03]
Christopher
Of course. So the Memphis Grizzlies have traded guard Desmond Bain to the Orlando Magic for Kentavious Caldwell Pope, Cole Anthony, four first round picks and a future pick swap. And so those picks are the 2026 first round pick via the Suns, 2028 first round pick, 2029 first round pick and a 2030 first round pick. And they are unprotected. So this is a big haul for Desmond Bain. Desmond Bain is a very good player. He made the All Rookie Second Team in 2021. He averaged a career high 23.7 points per game last season. He's averaging is pretty good for you know that 20 to 23 points per game in any given season. Right? But he's never made an all star team. He's never made an all NBA team. He can be a good player. But the hole that came back, those four first round picks plus a pick swap plus, plus Cole, Anthony and KCP make this a blockbuster trade. The Orlando Magic are clearly just going for it. They saw something in Desmond Bayne that they really liked to complete their young exciting roster. They made the playoffs this year they played the Celtics. They played the Celtics really hard. They showed a lot of promise, and they clearly identified Desmond Bain as a player that could really complement their young existing squad. So from their point of view, it was a. Was a bold move. They gave up a lot to get him. But immediately, it sort of gives the Orlando Magic a really good shot of being a top four, maybe even a top three team in the east next season. Because you'd assume that the Celtics will regress a little bit with the injury to Jayson Tatum. They'll struggle to get top four, top three seed. I know.
- [27:53]
Isabella
Sorry, Katie.
- [27:54]
Ryan McDonough
I know.
- [27:56]
Christopher
If Isabella can get this Knicks gig, the Knicks will be, you know, top two seed. Cavs should be top two seed. Orlando's given themselves the best opportunity to, you know, really be up there. So it's going to be. They're going to be a fun team to watch. It really is a blockbuster trade. Not just because Desmond Bain is a star, because he is a good player and he's probably going to be an all NBA player one day. He's probably going to be an all star one day. But what makes it a blockbuster trade is the, the sheer amount of draft picks coming back to the Memphis Grizzlies.
- [28:25]
Katie Nolan
Chris, you mentioned Isabella getting the Knicks job. Very timely introduction because we have a special guest joining us now. We have Ryan McDonough, the former general manager of the Phoenix Suns from Hingham, I believe.
- [28:42]
Ryan McDonough
That's right, Katie.
- [28:43]
Katie Nolan
That's right. A Massachusetts boy, son of Will, brother of Sean. For anybody local who's like, I recognize McDonough as a last name. Ryan, you are here today to do something very important for us, and that is interview our dear Isabella for the head coaching position of the Knicks. We figured running her through a mock interview would be good for her because we do believe as they search for a coach and seem to struggle to find one, she may be their best option. So I'm going to lay out and let you two handle this. But Isabella, Ryan, have at it. It's a GM interview of our future head coach candidate, Isabella.
- [29:23]
Isabella
Sup, Ryan?
- [29:26]
Ryan McDonough
Sup, Isabella? It's the first interview I've ever been involved with. It started with a sup and, well, I appreciate your passion. The way you dressed for this interview has me a little bit concerned about your understanding of what we're doing here today.
- [29:37]
Isabella
I disagree, but continue.
- [29:42]
Ryan McDonough
So, Isabella, let's start at the top. What is your prior work experience and how is that applicable to becoming the head coach of the New York Knicks?
- [29:52]
Isabella
I watched like Mike A lot as a kid. And from that I learned a lot of a really important, important skill, which is that before you go on the court and you tie your shoes, you have to say, make me like Mike. And it actually does make you like. Like Mike Old Jordan.
- [30:08]
Ryan McDonough
So, yeah, I've been told you're relatively new to the NBA, so you should know that Michael Jordan tormented the New York Knicks for a number of decades now. So that's probably not the best way to start this interview.
- [30:18]
Katie Nolan
But we'll.
- [30:18]
Ryan McDonough
We'll continue is.
- [30:20]
Isabella
Yeah, whatever, you know.
- [30:24]
Ryan McDonough
So next question I have for you, Isabella, and this is an important one. Are you currently under contract as the head coach of an NBA team?
- [30:34]
Isabella
No, but in spirit, I am for the Knicks.
- [30:38]
Ryan McDonough
Well, actually, that's going to hurt your chances. We were looking for somebody who was employed elsewhere. That's been our strategy so far in the process is to go to them first.
- [30:44]
Isabella
I'm employed by Sirius xm.
- [30:46]
Ryan McDonough
Okay. I'll give you bonus points for that answer.
- [30:49]
Katie Nolan
Yeah.
- [30:49]
Ryan McDonough
So let's get right to it, Isabella. Why are you qualified to be the next head coach of the New York Knicks?
- [30:56]
Isabella
I'm really kind of. So this is not gonna. I'm not gonna be a tough love type of coach. I don't believe in that. I actually think tough love makes people resentful of their coach. So I'm gonna be really kind. Okay. I believe there should be work, life balance. I'm also gonna really care about the players on the team also being involved in New York City. So we're gonna go on New York City field trips so that they become educated about the city that they're playing in. Also, I'll take this job for like 20 an hour. So I'm. This is really high reward, low cost.
- [31:31]
Christopher
Isabella, speak to your agent first. Man, what are you doing, Isabella?
- [31:34]
Isabella
20 an hour.
- [31:36]
Ryan McDonough
Yeah. That's actually gonna help your causes. Isabella, we're paying our last head coach a lot. Unlike you, he did not believe in work, life balance. And he certainly was not going to the Met. You know, different museums around town. That was not part of his package when Tom Thibodeau worked here. So it's going to be a very different shift for us with the New York Knicks. The next question I have, and I think Christopher and Katie just alluded to it, do you have an agent who represents you that we'd have to negotiate your contract with?
- [32:04]
Isabella
No, but I can call my mom. She can really help with that. She has my best interests at heart.
- [32:11]
Ryan McDonough
Okay. Yeah, I don't like to Help people too much during an interview. But the correct answer there would have been caa. If you'd say caa, that would have helped your chances.
- [32:20]
Isabella
Also known as ka ka.
- [32:23]
Katie Nolan
That's right.
- [32:24]
Ryan McDonough
Okay, the next one I have for you, Isabella, is how much experience do you have in dealing with the media? I know you're currently working for Sirius XM on Casuals with Katie, but how much media experience do you have overall?
- [32:39]
Isabella
Just this. You know, I mean, what kind of question is that? Are you basically asking me if I have media training? So you're saying that coaches have media training?
- [32:52]
Ryan McDonough
Well, it's the kind of question because with the Knicks as ownership in the front office, we don't talk to the media at all. So that's your job. That's why I brought it up. We're not going to do any of that. Even if we fire a coach. Hire a coach, that's your problem. So I was hoping you'd say a lot or at a minimum that you sit out there and take the bullets when we screw something up.
- [33:08]
Isabella
Organization, I do no interviews whatsoever.
- [33:11]
Katie Nolan
I'll take no interviews.
- [33:14]
Ryan McDonough
Just so you know, Isabella, that is league mandated by the NBA. The head coach is available and often you have to do it three times on game day. You have to do it before, shoot around, after shoot around.
- [33:24]
Isabella
But could you argue that this interferes with the game? It interferes with the coaching. I need to focus on my players, not on doing media.
- [33:32]
Ryan McDonough
Okay, well maybe you can do it from the Natural History Museum or something when you're on one of your field trips. We'll talk to the leader.
- [33:37]
Isabella
I like that. Thanks for the idea.
- [33:40]
Ryan McDonough
No problem. Isabella, what do you think of our current roster with the New York Knicks? It currently went to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in 25 years and was just two games away from the NBA Finals.
- [33:53]
Isabella
I say we don't trade anyone. Okay. I say we don't trade anyone and we just work on improving our players performance.
- [34:02]
Ryan McDonough
How would you improve our players performance?
- [34:09]
Isabella
Can you repeat that question again?
- [34:12]
Ryan McDonough
It seemed pretty straightforward and self explanatory. But you said your last answer. I'll read it back with improving players performance.
- [34:19]
Isabella
Oh, okay. You know, okay. You know our starting lineup's pretty okay. I guess I would just focus a lot on the bench and the relationship between the bench and the starting lineup.
- [34:29]
Christopher
And you also did say she did mention on our show last week that she'll make sure that all the players shoot 90% from the field.
- [34:35]
Katie Nolan
That was good. Good bringing that up.
- [34:37]
Christopher
That's her age, 90%. She's guaranteeing the players will shoot from the field.
- [34:43]
Ryan McDonough
Okay.
- [34:44]
Katie Nolan
Yeah.
- [34:44]
Ryan McDonough
You realize no player, never mind a team, no player in NBA history, I think, ever shot more than about 70%. So 90% from the field would be a record. But I'm sure you have a strategy to get Mitchell Robinson a bunch of dunks at the rim. We'll get into that here in a minute. Isabella, so you mentioned you like the bench and the starters and the relationship. How many. How many of our players would you play in a rotation.
- [35:08]
Isabella
And explain.
- [35:11]
Ryan McDonough
A rotation again, a rotation is, you know, you have your five starters and then you have players come off the bench. How many of those would you play in a given night?
- [35:25]
Isabella
Let's say 10 to 12.
- [35:28]
Ryan McDonough
Okay. It seemed like you were kind of guessing there and just making up random numbers. Could you explain your answer a little bit?
- [35:33]
Katie Nolan
Objection.
- [35:37]
Isabella
Well, you know, you got the starting lineup and you. Let's just say you have one player for one player. So let's give that about 10, 12. So each player has someone that they can, you know, can sub in for them.
- [35:47]
Christopher
Like a buddy system.
- [35:48]
Ryan McDonough
Yeah, that's actually a good answer. We were just looking for a number more than seven because the last guy we had as our head coach, that's all he played and that was a problem. So. So I give you points for that one as well.
- [35:58]
Isabella
Thank you.
- [35:59]
Ryan McDonough
What are your core offensive and defensive philosophies?
- [36:04]
Isabella
Hard hitting questions, you know, offense, you shoot the ball when you're open, you shoot the ball defensively. Just, you know, cover the players and, you know, don't foul.
- [36:22]
Ryan McDonough
Pretty simple. I like it. Okay. Isabella, how would you prepare our team for special situations? You know, I want to get your thoughts on two for one opportunities, the Hack and Mitch strategy. Other teams are employing against us in other specific detailed basketball questions.
- [36:38]
Isabella
Oh, okay. I think the hackamage is lame. I think that strategy. You're a loser if you employ that strategy, actually. So I will not be employing that strategy against other teams because that's loser energy. So.
- [36:54]
Ryan McDonough
Well, just. I asked the question because the other teams actually do it to us and it's been a problem with the New York Knicks.
- [36:59]
Isabella
That's what I'm saying. It's loser energy.
- [37:02]
Christopher
You're just going to call out other teams who do it and if they do it to the Knicks and you're just going to go on a. Go on a rant and really call them out.
- [37:11]
Isabella
Yeah, that's why our practices are just free throws. We don't train anything else. Just free throws.
- [37:17]
Ryan McDonough
Well, if you're confident at the 90% field goal percentage, then I don't think you need to work on anything else. So that makes sense to me in a roundabout way. Just a few more questions for you, Isabella. Who would you hire on your coaching staff if you become head coach of the Knicks?
- [37:32]
Isabella
Okay, let's see. I would hire. I would hire Tom Thibodeau as an assistant coach. Okay. I would hire Katie Nolan as another assistant coach so that she would have to live with the fact of working on the Knicks as a fan. And let's see who else. Sure, we can add Stephen A. Smith in there. Why not?
- [37:59]
Ryan McDonough
I can think a number of reasons why not, but we won't get into on the show, especially since he'll be our colleague here shortly on Sirius xm. Just two more for me. Isabella, what would it mean to you personally to become the first female head coach in NBA history?
- [38:15]
Isabella
Aw, it would mean so much. Wouldn't it be so cute. Oh, my God, that's would be so cute.
- [38:26]
Ryan McDonough
Answered like a real pioneer. I'm sure Don Staley, Becky Hammond, Jenny Busick and others who have spent their life coaching and dreamed of this opportunity would love to hear you say that and love to see you become the first female head coach with your qualifications. You know the last one for me, Isabella, and this is probably the most important question I'm going to ask you all day, so I'll give you a minute if you need to think about it and come up with a intelligent answer. What are your thoughts on JD and the Straight Shot?
- [38:55]
Isabella
Are you asking all of your interviewees this question?
- [39:00]
Ryan McDonough
We are.
- [39:04]
Isabella
Is this as in J.D. vance?
- [39:08]
Katie Nolan
This is. What's James Dolan's shitty band we have.
- [39:13]
Christopher
Mentioned on the show.
- [39:14]
Isabella
Oh, with his hat. With his hat.
- [39:16]
Katie Nolan
Right, with the hat. And with the song about Harvey Weinstein.
- [39:20]
Isabella
Oh. Ooh. Do I have to interact with him if I'm the head coach?
- [39:26]
Ryan McDonough
Yes, and more than you would like.
- [39:28]
Katie Nolan
Oh.
- [39:32]
Isabella
It sounds like that would be an offense.
- [39:36]
Christopher
This is why you ask for more than $20, Isabella.
- [39:40]
Isabella
Okay.
- [39:41]
Katie Nolan
Yeah.
- [39:41]
Isabella
Can we up that to 40?
- [39:44]
Ryan McDonough
You got it. Congratulations. You're the next head coach of the New York.
- [39:49]
Christopher
She did it.
- [39:50]
Katie Nolan
We knew you could do it, Isabella.
- [39:51]
Isabella
Go New York. Go, New York.
- [39:53]
Katie Nolan
Go. What an interview. Ryan, thank you so much for. For stopping by and doing that. I really appreciate it. I feel like you made the right call with the higher and. And I'm happy to have. Have helped in any way.
- [40:07]
Ryan McDonough
Yeah, we know it's going to be entertaining with Isabella on the sideline. We know we're going to save a lot of money and we know the media will be kind and gracious in New York to her. Give her plenty of time to grow on the job. And when she's, you know, off doing field trips and things like that, instead of practicing defense and shooting, I'm sure they'll see the big picture and not overreact in the short term.
- [40:25]
Katie Nolan
Yeah. At least Stephen A. Smith won't say anything because he's on staff. You know, because she put him on staff so he won't have anything critical to say.
- [40:32]
Isabella
Low cost, high reward.
- [40:34]
Katie Nolan
Ryan, thank you for, for stopping by. We really appreciate it.
- [40:37]
Ryan McDonough
Thanks for having me, guys.
- [40:39]
Christopher
Isabella, we had a 550 million dollar offer on the table and you went to $20 an hour.
- [40:44]
Katie Nolan
Hour.
- [40:45]
Isabella
Because I want them to really hire me. So if they're like, you know, fine, whatever.
- [40:49]
Katie Nolan
Okay. And let's just make a note to our listeners, you don't have to undervalue yourself just in order to get a job. Maybe Isabella did that and that's her path. Okay. But you shouldn't under. Don't the first interaction go. By the way, you don't even have to pay me. I'll do it for free is not your best move. But luckily, Isabella, you've got Chris and I as your caa, as your Ka' a, and my mommy and your mommy. And we are gonna get back in there and now that you've gotten the job, we're gonna renegotiate that salary. Cause 20 an hour, even 40 an hour, which I believe he did agree to there at the end, is not enough to have to deal with James Dolan as much as you're going to have to. So I will get about that aspect. Yeah, we're gonna get that back up for you. But I think he did a great job. I think you were great under pressure. I think he out the gate roasted you for your outfit. And I think that that shows he is out of touch with the fan experience. I thought you did great.
- [41:53]
Isabella
Thank you.
- [41:54]
Katie Nolan
I'm excited for the, for the world to meet the new head coach of the Knicks. Okay, other big sports news that we have to get to. Shohei Ohtani returns to the mound against the Padres. He returned last night. So Monday night as the Dodgers opener, he pitched one inning. It took him 28 pitches to record three outs. He gave up two hits in one run. His 10th pitch Monday night clocked 100.2 miles per hour. His 17th came in at 99.9 miles. Per hour. And then later, he went 2 for 4 as the DH, striking out twice, but also driving in a couple runs. The Dodgers won the game. Who cares? Six to three. And did you guys stay up for this? Chris, I know 1010 on the east coast is a little late for you.
- [42:38]
Christopher
Well, actually, I was watching the NBA finals last night, so I did stay up somewhat late. Stayed up till 11:30.
- [42:43]
Katie Nolan
Damn. Little. Wow.
- [42:45]
Christopher
Almost midnight. Almost saw midnight.
- [42:47]
Katie Nolan
Oh, bad boy in the house. I know. Isabella, did you get to watch?
- [42:53]
Isabella
No, I didn't. I was watching a little bit of the NBA finals, but then I was mostly scrolling on my phone.
- [42:59]
Katie Nolan
Yeah. Wow. Okay.
- [43:00]
Christopher
Preparing for an interview with Ramadan.
- [43:02]
Isabella
Yeah, exactly.
- [43:03]
Katie Nolan
Okay. And that's good. That's a good save. Chris. As her agent.
- [43:06]
Christopher
As her agent, I'm relishing this new opportunity, by the way.
- [43:09]
Katie Nolan
And you're doing. You're doing just great. Yeah, I watched it. I was. Look, I. It's. I love Shohei Ohtani. I really. After the. The. Not to bring his name up again, but the rd of it all, I was just. Last night, it was nice to be like, oh, I don't. I don't like the Dodgers. I don't care about this team, but I love this man so much. I was so excited to see him return to the mound. I think there's a conversation to be had about the Dodgers rehabbing him in the major leagues, of him just pitching one inning at the beginning of a game rather than having, like a bunch of rehab starts somewhere else in. In the minors. But, you know, he show a Otani, he's worth a ton of money. He's a blockbuster player. So, you know, what do I know? But I do believe this is a first. I don't think we've seen something like this before, and it is a little interesting. It's coming from a team that last week had a position player pitching in, like, the sixth inning. But, you know, I'm not a manager of. Of a baseball team, nor have I even interviewed for the position. So I. What do I know? But certainly, certainly interesting.
- [44:26]
Christopher
I guess this is what you sort of have to do when his bat is still so valuable in the lineup and there are only so many days off that you can have as, you know, a dh, your rehab starts sort of have to be in the majors, and the Dodgers are so good that they can just throw him in there for one inning and still win games six, three. Because they've still got Otani's bat in the lineup.
- [44:50]
Katie Nolan
It's crazy.
- [44:51]
Christopher
As well as all these other bats that are worth millions and millions and millions and millions of dollars, all of.
- [44:55]
Katie Nolan
Them, they're just collecting them. It's so cool. It's so cool. Okay. It feels almost blasphemous doing this without Brady. But we do have to talk about the US Open, Something I think all three of us, us definitely were tuned into this weekend because a golfer of Filipino descent, JJ Spawn, captured his first major championship with a two stroke victory in the 125th US Open at Oakmont Country Club on Sunday. Before we got into this weekend, Brady was harping on how difficult they were making this course. And from what I've heard from my dad and dads across the country, is that this course was incredibly difficult, making for a very interesting Open. We got a voicemail from. I don't know if he's a dad, but Charlie from Philly. That I think would probably best encapsulate the excitement around this event. Let's take a listen.
- [45:49]
Chrissy
Hey, Katie, it's Charlie from Philly. I'm watching the US Open. It's the fourth round on Sunday here, and I just want to say I love the rough. I love how hard they've made Oakmont this year. I think it's really fun to watch golfers struggle like this. Golf should be hard. My ancestors in the Scottish Isles were hitting sheet dung with their, their right there. They're their crops and stuff. You know, it's meant to be hard. It's meant to be difficult. It's a challenge. You overcome it. It's. It's a. It's a metaphor for life. Golf is awesome. More people should play it, it should be more accessible, etc. Etc. I don't know if you're going to play this, Katie. You know, golf's audience is very old and white, but more people can play golf. Challenge, mental, physical. It's good for you. All right, thank you. Love you. Mean it. Bye.
- [46:45]
Katie Nolan
Love you, Charlie. Mean it. Thank you for calling. We did play it so, you know, the oldness and whiteness be damned. I think I agree. I think, like, I like seeing professionals frustrated by how difficult it is to do the thing they're here to do. I just like that energy. I like somebody looking like, why is this so hard and difficult? Because that's me. Anytime I try to play golf, anytime I step up to that tee and I go, here it goes, and it goes to the right, even though I'm hitting it perfectly, that's very frustrating to me. And the reaction that I have is, what the fuck? Why Is this so hard? And it was nice to see that reflected in pros. It is nice to see yourself among the pros of a sport. So I agree. I think they should be making everything more difficult when it's televised for us. And we should just see people processing the difficulty of. Of that.
- [47:39]
Christopher
Yeah. It's like watching a football game when it's snowing. Things like that, where it's just so difficult for the quarterback to throw the ball. It's so difficult for the running back to actually keep hold of the ball because it's just so slippery. It makes it fun. It makes it a spectacle.
- [47:55]
Katie Nolan
Yeah.
- [47:56]
Isabella
Should we open the roof at basketball stadiums?
- [47:58]
Christopher
Yes.
- [47:58]
Katie Nolan
Whoa. Your first move as Nick's head coach.
- [48:04]
Isabella
Gotta learn how to play with wind, not rain. That's dangerous.
- [48:07]
Christopher
There have been open air games in the nbl, the Australian Basketball League. Every now and then, like in hot summer nights, you'll have the. The roof open and that's like a big event. And you've also had some college basketball games on like aircraft carriers and things like that.
- [48:21]
Katie Nolan
Oh, yeah.
- [48:22]
Christopher
So it has been done before. And it's a lot of fun every time you watch like an open air basketball game. It's cool. It's different. I like it.
- [48:31]
Katie Nolan
Rain really would fuck it up, though. I don't think you can correct.
- [48:35]
Isabella
Or we could try. I can incorporate some of my tennis background.
- [48:39]
Katie Nolan
Okay.
- [48:40]
Isabella
Have it and have it where it's like some courts are gonna be grass. You have to play.
- [48:44]
Katie Nolan
Okay. And the bouncing and the dribbling on the grass, you think would be just.
- [48:50]
Isabella
Just make sure it's cut really, really, really, really low. And I think it'll be fine.
- [48:54]
Katie Nolan
Okay. I don't.
- [48:54]
Isabella
The tennis ball bounces.
- [48:55]
Katie Nolan
You're right. A good counter. Although those are different types of balls. I don't see why not. Anything's going today because Brady's not here. Dad's not here, so he can't correct us or yell at us.
- [49:09]
Christopher
Inmates are running the asylum.
- [49:10]
Katie Nolan
Yep, we are free. Caitlin Clark is back. Oh, my God. All of this, this conversation about, she's gone. Nobody watches the league anymore. Caitlyn Clark is the wnba. And then she comes back and my God, with a bang. She returned to the court on Saturday after missing the past five games. You would have thought it was like three months with a thigh injury. And helped lead the Indiana fever to a 10288 victory over the New York Liberty. Clark had a season high 32 points, eight rebounds, nine assists and a career high tying seven three pointers. Indiana, which went two and three in Clark's absence. Registered season highs in points and three pointers with 17 and the Fever improved to five and five. Good to obviously good to have Caitlin Clark back. Electric. Just an electric player. Just banging electric shots. It's. It's what you love to see. Chris, did you have thoughts on this?
- [50:10]
Christopher
Yeah. Just coming back from an extended layoff and being able to hit the ground running as if she had played yesterday is a testament to how good she is. Like it should never be underestimated how hard it is to come back from an injury and play like you have never experienced injuries in your entire career. So just kudos to Caitlin Clark. She's. She's a gym man.
- [50:36]
Katie Nolan
Also. Kudos. And this isn't. I know. The world goes. They're not rivals. They're not the same level of player. Okay. And I'm not saying that they are. This is a separate WNBA headline that I would like to shout out. Angel Reese got her first career triple double in the Chicago sky. I mean what a. They're struggling a little the sky. Huh? 78. But they won 7866 over the sun on Sunday. She's 23 years old. 23 and 40. 23 years and 40 days. Thank you for specifying because that makes her the second youngest player to record a triple double in WNBA history behind only Caitlin Clark. And again that's not me sort of driving any sort of narrative. That's just what the words on the page say.
- [51:14]
Christopher
Who's better? Do you think? Katie?
- [51:16]
Katie Nolan
I probably. Caitlin Clark. I'd say I think. But as Isabella always reminds us, I don't like to pit women against each other. Even though I think that is the whole point of the wnba. I do think we're pitting a lot of women against each other.
- [51:28]
Christopher
That is what companies competition is.
- [51:29]
Katie Nolan
You're right. The goal is to be the top group of women. But I don't like to engage in that myself. Also should be noted because people will scream if I don't say Caitlin Clark did it twice while she was still 22. So she beat her twice. Are you guys happy? She beat her twice. The Panthers are. Why is it phrased this way? The Panthers are one win away from winning the Stanley Cup. Brad Marchand led the Florida Panthers to within one win of lifting the Stanley cup within game five heroic on Saturday night. He also made NHL playoff history becoming the first player to score at least five goals in two separate Stanley cup finals series with two different teams. I also saw he's the second to do it two different times in the modern era, I believe was the stat that I saw. Look, he's good. Who's been saying that? Me.
- [52:20]
Isabella
Maybe I'll watch tonight.
- [52:21]
Katie Nolan
Oh, good. Great. That's tonight at 8 on TNT. It's game six. Fascinating thing about the hockey finals broadcast is that TNT not to fire shots, okay? But TNT famously had the basketball panel that everybody envied and wanted to try to recreate. And now they've also got the hockey panel. Like they. What they've done with their hockey team, not literally a team of people playing hockey, but the, the. The desk crew that they have that comes in at, you know, in the intermissions is like, it's great. They have great chemistry, it's entertaining, it's interesting. It blends together the fan angle and the analysis of the game. It's great. And they've done it again. And so I look forward to, I don't know, 10 years, 20 years from now when ESPN gives up and just buys that panel and moves them over to ESPN because they realize that they can't put together anything better because that's the gold standard. And they have yet again, not done that on their own. So that, to me, is the most exciting hockey headline. God, I hope, I really hope that the Oilers can win tonight so that this goes seven and then hopefully the Panthers lose. But I will say the Panthers feel like they think they're gonna win. They are acting as if they've already won and it shows. And that confidence, you in the movie would be hubris and it would lead to their downfall. Unfortunately, this team is so unstoppable when they're rolling and they're scoring so many goals per game that it just feels like they might just be right. And hubris this time doesn't happen. So we'll see. And you know what? If it happens, I will be very happy for Brad Marchand. I will save my crash out for when he signs a long term extension with that team. Team. That's when I'm really gonna just let it all out. But I've had enough people screaming at me that, like, I need to be happy for him. And I never said I wasn't. I'm just sad for me. I don't. I'm not centering men's emotions. Okay. I'm centering my emotions.
- [54:31]
Isabella
Yeah. Think about yourself.
- [54:32]
Katie Nolan
I'm sad. I miss him, okay? I'm not like, sorry for not lifting him up at every step of the way. I'm happy for him. I just miss him a lot.
- [54:45]
Christopher
So Obviously, we want the Oilers to win tonight because we don't want the Panthers to win the Stanley Cup. But we also should want the Oilers to win because we want more hockey. Right? This has been such a fun series. We had. Game one, go to OT. Game two, go to double OT. Game four, go to OT. Yes. Panthers @ times have looked unstoppable and have looked the much better team, but we're one game away from it, going to game seven. We won as much hockey, we deserve it as we can. It has been a terrific series. One of my best buddies from back home, he's a Pacers fan, so I checked in with him earlier this week and I said, hey, man, have you been watching the Pacer series? Is like, yeah, kind of, man. But I've been watching more hockey. I've been more into the Stanley cup this year. Like, playoff hockey is fun. So my Pacers buddy, who has just been. We bonded over NBA all of our life. I don't know if I've ever spoken to him about hockey before. He is now completely converted to the NHL over the NBA. There is something about the NHL this season, or, I don't know, maybe it's been going on for a few years, but it's just that there's some magic about it. It's fun. We want more of it. So we are going for the Oilers so we can get that Game 7 because there really isn't anything better than Game 7 in the Stanley Cup.
- [56:04]
Katie Nolan
There's really nothing better than playoff hockey. Playoff hockey is electric. It's magical. It's, you know, and we haven't even talked about what happens usually right after the Stanley cup where all the injuries come out and you find out what guys were playing through the entire time. But it's some. There's just something about Stanley cup hockey that is thrilling no matter what. So I'm hoping for a good game tonight again at 8 Eastern on TNT. I'm hoping for an Edmond, maybe I won't even say I'm hoping for an Edmonton win because if I say I'm hoping for something, the universe just keeps dunking on me. So we'll just say I hope it's a great game. And I'm excited that people are giving a shit about hockey because hockey is the coolest thing to give a about. Second coolest thing to give a about is darts. And Chris, you told us the World cup of darts was here. You have to tell us what happened.
- [57:02]
Christopher
So on Saturday, we all know that the players that we have all followed throughout this Season. Luke litla, our guy, 18 years old, second best player in the world. Luke Humphreys we know about because he is the best player in the world. He is the. The dartsman that defeated Luke Littler in the Premier League darts final. So these are the two guys that we knew. They are both representing England. So they both represented England in this weekend's World cup of Darts. Heavy, heavy favorites to win the championship. This is the best and second best darts players in the world. Their opening match was against Germany. The World cup of Darts was taking place in Germany. So it was the home team, right? I think. I think Germany were like + 1200 or whatever it was to win. They were severe underdogs and they ended up pulling it out. They won 8 to 4. So they run pretty comprehensively and it was the biggest upset and that sort of opened up the field for everyone else. So then it came down to the finals on Sunday. Northern Ireland playing against Wales. Why don't I let this voicemail that we got tell you what happened?
- [58:27]
Dan
Hey, casuals, this is Dan from North Dakota calling in with a. Did you see that? The PVC darts World cup final was on Sunday and it was thrilling. Northern Ireland versus Wales. My grandfather's from Belfast, so I decided to root for Northern Ireland. And the finals were amazing. Northern Ireland went up seven to five, or rather Wales went up seven to five. Northern Ireland wins four straight legs and then they walked the next two to make it nine to nine. And it's first to 10. So the winner of the next leg wins it all. And Northern Ireland pulled it off after missing a couple of match darts. It was amazing television and I wouldn't have known it without the podcast. So thanks.
- [59:07]
Katie Nolan
Love you. Mean it.
- [59:08]
Christopher
Bye.
- [59:10]
Katie Nolan
You're so welcome. Love you. Mean it too. That actually.
- [59:12]
Isabella
So thanks.
- [59:13]
Katie Nolan
That makes me smile like I wouldn't have known to walk if it weren't for the podcast. So. Hell yeah. Hell yeah. Exciting darts.
- [59:21]
Christopher
Exactly. And we also got an email from Tracy that mentioned the same thing, that Tracy got into the darts, because we've been talking about it so much on the podcast and Tracy really enjoyed it. So people have got to get into it. And the US Darts Masters, that's coming up at the end of the month, 27th to 29th of June.
- [59:39]
Katie Nolan
Didn't we just jokingly say that they're going through all of the sports and taking their biggest game, like the super bowl of darts? And now there really is the masters us.
- [59:49]
Isabella
So is that finally.
- [59:51]
Christopher
That's the one in New York. I don't know. Which one? Like, they're all. They're all big. They're all equally.
- [59:56]
Katie Nolan
They're all pointy end.
- [59:58]
Christopher
They're all the pointy end. But this is the one in New York. And so Luke Litla will be very, very close proximity to our studio next week. So maybe, or maybe not have a chance of Luke Litla stepping into the casual studio next week. We will see how that goes.
- [60:19]
Katie Nolan
All right. Maybe we'll go see the US Darts Masters. A lot of other stuff happened that we wanted to get to, but we are out of time and we have good guests that we can get to some of this stuff with for Thursday's episode. So be sure not to miss that. But before we go, because it is Tuesday, Chris has to let us know what we can watch this week if we want to watch sports. And now pay attention because as you saw from that last voicemail and that last email, there may be a sporting event you know nothing about that is fun and exciting. So, Chris, what are we watching this week?
- [60:54]
Christopher
Major League Cricket. Oh, we have Washington Freedom versus the LA Knight Riders. We've got a bunch of emails about the mlc, so I figured that now was the time to bring it up. There is a game.
- [61:08]
Katie Nolan
This is the U.S. the U.S. league of Cricket.
- [61:10]
Christopher
The U.S. cricket League.
- [61:12]
Katie Nolan
Okay.
- [61:13]
Christopher
There is a game tonight, 9pm Eastern on Willow TV between Washington Freedom and the LA Knight Riders.
- [61:19]
Katie Nolan
Yeah.
- [61:20]
Christopher
Victorian Glenn Maxwell leads the Freedom Squad. They're also the reigning champions of the mlc. So they are the team that I will adopt because of Glenn Maxwell. He is from my home state. He represents my home state in cricket. So I will be. I will be rooting for them pretty hard. This is Major League Cricket's third season. All games, as I said, are on Willow TV. That's about $10 a month if you want to subscribe to that. This is the perfect prep for the Ashes that come around in November. So if you can start to watch some cricket, start to understand the rules a little bit, get to know some of the players, some of the Australian players in this league, because there are a lot of Australian players. I don't know how many of these players will be representing Australia once the Ashes come along, because usually these are guys that are on the periphery of the team. Glenn Maxwell is someone that's sort of in and out of the team. So maybe if he has a good showing in the. In the Major League Cricket season, they might select him for the Australian squad once the Ashes roll around. We'll see. But that is Major League cricket. Washington Freedom versus LA Knight Riders tonight, 9pm Eastern on Willow TV.
- [62:25]
Katie Nolan
Glenns are really having a moment right now. I feel like there's been a lot of Glens. We're back in Glendale. Not a lot of Dales. Actually, now that I think about it, I haven't heard of a Dale in a while. Okay, so we're watching cricket. What else are we watching?
- [62:42]
Christopher
Premier League lacrosse. We have. This is the Casuals cup coming up this Saturday, Boston Cannons, who are 2 and 1 this season against Maryland. Whipsnakes, who are 1 and 2. That'll be Saturday, June 21 at 7:30pm on ESPN2. Brady will be happy to know that all eight teams competing in this league end their names with an S. But one of them. Here's a question. One of these teams is the Chaos.
- [63:09]
Katie Nolan
No, that doesn't count.
- [63:11]
Christopher
That's the thing. Ends with an S. They'd have to be. So Brady yesterday I said, hey, you'd like the fact that all teams end with S, but chaos, does it count? And he definitively said no, because then you can't call them the KOs. Like, he's a. He's a former KO.
- [63:28]
Katie Nolan
Yeah. Well, good. I'm glad Brady's weird S fascination continues. I'm happy.
- [63:35]
Christopher
A couple of notes that I made while scrubbing through some of these rosters. California, the team from California have four players and two coaches named Chris.
- [63:45]
Katie Nolan
Shout out six.
- [63:46]
Christopher
Chris's on the team, which is crazy. And Carolina have a player named Blaze Riordan. I just like that name. Blaze Riordan. And Denver Outlaws have a player named Eric Law.
- [63:59]
Katie Nolan
That should be illegal. You can't have Law on the Outlaws. That's not. It's lawless. They live outside of the law. So sorry, Eric, you're being traded.
- [64:08]
Christopher
Gotta get traded.
- [64:10]
Katie Nolan
Okay, so we're watching lacrosse, we're watching cricket. And then what's the last thing we're watching?
- [64:15]
Christopher
3X3 World Tour, which is the basketball. The world tour is coming up. US are playing Mongolia. That's the second ranked United States men's team against the 10th ranked Mongolia men's team. This game will be on Monday, June 23rd at. I wrote 6:23am It's 6:25. That's a very specific tip off. If it was 6:23. But at 6:25am Eastern.
- [64:38]
Katie Nolan
Still kind of specific.
- [64:39]
Christopher
Still kind of specific. Yeah, you can watch that for free on the FIBA 3x3 YouTube channel. So free to watch. Check it out. 3x3 is fun. Different style of basketball. They're trying to grow it it's getting bigger and bigger. It is now an Olympic sport as well. The men's team will be made up of Henry Caruso, Mitch Hahn, James Parrott, and Dylan Travis. The women's team will also be competing. Their start times were much earlier in the morning. They were like 1am, 4am so that's why I highlighted the men specifically, because at least. At least 6. 25.
- [65:14]
Katie Nolan
Also because you're a sex.
- [65:15]
Christopher
Some people will wake up. And I am incredibly sexist.
- [65:17]
Katie Nolan
Incredibly.
- [65:18]
Christopher
And I don't want to highlight women's sports whatsoever.
- [65:20]
Katie Nolan
Yeah. So Those are the two reasons you're fine with the WNBA. It's just when it gets down to 3v3, you're not into that. You think there should be, except when.
- [65:28]
Christopher
It'S unrivaled 3x3, which I am supportive of. But if it's the national women's team 3x3, that's when the sexism comes out a little bit.
- [65:36]
Katie Nolan
Yeah. No, girls can't do that is what he's always saying. Girls can't do that. That's Christopher's slogan. Girls can't do that. What do you mean? Also, not to be confused with the Big three, which is the league that featured Dwight Howard and Lance Stevenson getting into a fight, which, again, we will get into on Thursday. Guys, there's just too much sports. That's why this podcast exists, because there's too much to talk about in sports and someone's gonna try to talk about all of it. And that was us trying to talk about all of it. I am. I'm so sad still. I thought this would help me process, but I'm still really bummed and sad, and I feel like I'm gonna yap about it on Thursday again because there's just so many. I just wish that the money they're saving would go towards anything that would be helpful to my team. That's it for the podcast, you guys. If you want to reach out to us, you can email us. Did I not say this at the top of the podcast? I don't think I did.
- [66:28]
Christopher
You're just too eager to get.
- [66:29]
Katie Nolan
I was too eager.
- [66:30]
Isabella
I don't think you did.
- [66:31]
Katie Nolan
To share my pain. Well, good thing. I'll say it now. It's Casuals with Katie. No, Our voicemail is 646-801-0043. On IG and TikTok. We are CasualStepodcast. We love you. We mean it. We'll see you on Thursday.
- [66:45]
Isabella
Bye.
- [66:47]
Katie Nolan
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